Gimme Formal
by hidinginplainsight
Summary: Looks like its time for the big school dance, again. Love confessions. Holding hands. Maybe even some kissing if we're lucky! But who would a proud German deem worthy of her arm to the school's biggest social event?
1. Gimme Formal

"_Well now then, Mardy Bum  
><em>_I've seen your frown and it's like looking down the barrel of a gun._

_And it goes off."_

_- _Arctic Monkeys

* * *

><p><em>Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid <em>_**STUPID**__!_

Asuka had decided the afternoon was subpar.

She charged off through the woods, tossing the crumbled package into the underbrush, never to be found again. She hoped so, anyway. In any case, she wasn't turning back for it now, for to turn back would be to undoubtedly run into Shinji again, and after what she had just seen that was completely out of the question.

If possible, for the rest of her life.

She came to a clearing and placed her hands on her hips. _Now where the hell am I?_

"Asuka! Wait up!" The forest was thick enough that his voice already sounded distant, even though he was probably not that far behind.

She grit her teeth. The mature thing to do would be to stop and talk to him. She would make up some bullshit excuse for why she fled and let him explain that this was a big misunderstanding, which it probably was. They would discover that she was totally overreacting and things would go back to normal. In a way, every step she took dug her deeper.

So, the _mature_ thing to do would be to stay here and wait for him to catch up.

Asuka picked a direction and ran.

* * *

><p>"So have you asked anybody yet?"<p>

Asuka pulled the shirt of her uniform down over her head and turned to Megumi, right next to her in the locker room. She reached into her locker and removed her sync clips. The school didn't allow them when gym class involved the pool.

"Did I ask anybody what?"

"It's _December_, Sohryu-san. The floodgates are open," she grinned mischievously. "Is there anyone you have your eye on this year?"

"Oh god! She's gonna take all the good ones!" Luka's head poked out at the end of the row, her eyes wide in mock horror. "You know the way they all those idiots swoon over foreigners."

"Not Suzuhara-kun," Megumi replied. "I hear Hikari's already got him locked down. She's asking him right now." Luka laughed.

"She would! Leave it to Horaki to be proactive," she pulled her shirt on, "not that anyone couldn't see _that_ one coming a mile away."

"I know, right?" Megumi laughed, applying deodorant. "I think it's just adorable how she fawns over him."

"Wait, seriously: what's going on?" Asuka closed her locker, hair clips in place. "What's up with December? Why's that different?"

"Oh... Sohryu, you're a transfer student," Megumi's face registered shock. "You weren't here last year, were you?"

Asuka shook her head, her impatience starting to rise. "No. What exactly are we talking about?"

Meekly as humanly possible, Hikari entered the locker room and headed to her designated cubicle. She was about halfway there before most of 2-A had her surrounded.

"What'd he say?" "Did he answer?"

"Would you all stop?" Hikari laughed, blushing. "It's none of your business! Jeez!"

She straightened up, trying to look dignified while opening her locker. The silence was deafening. Asuka strained her neck to see if somehow seeing Hikari would tell her just what the hell was going on.

When her locker was good and open, Hikari cleared her throat. "...he said yes."

The locker room exploded in a loud cheer.

"What did he say yes to?" Asuka tried to shout over the din, "is Hikari engaged or what?"

* * *

><p>The last time Shinji saw her, Asuka was sprinting into the treeline. He'd been able to keep up for a good five minutes based solely on her angry shouts. The shouts had since ceased, possibly due to her mounting anger, <em>probably<em> due to her lack of breath. Shinji knew from recent, first-hand experience how difficult it was to run and shout like that.

Shinji stopped to catch his breath, leaning against a tree. Moments later, Touji and Kensuke trotted up beside him.

Shinji looked up at them. "Is Hikari still here?"

Kensuke looked behind them, panting. "I doubt it. _Touji's _barely still here_._"

Touji was doubled over, gasping for air like a fish out of water. "It's insane. She's the fastest girl alive."

Shinji pushed off from the tree and looked around them. He cupped his hands over his mouth. "Asuka! Wait up!" His voice echoed off of the forest around them.

"How far do you think we've run, anyway?" Kensuke muttered.

Shinji shook his head. He had no idea. This whole thing was hopeless. If Asuka didn't want to be found, the she probably wouldn't be. Changing her mind once it was set on something was about as easy as chopping down a mountain with the edge of your hand.

Touji glanced up, still in respiratory distress. "Hey so, do you know if Sohryu's on the track team? Because god _damn_." He reached out to the trunk next to him for support. "On a related note, I literally think I'm dying."

"So, what happened anyway?" Kensuke cleaned his glasses and tried not to look as desperate for breath as his friend. "Why exactly is Sohryu running away from you? Us, I guess."

Shinji felt himself blush. He wasn't exactly about to tell Kensuke and Touji what had just transpired – anyone would just read all the wrong things into the situation. He wasn't even entirely sure what had happened, and he had been there. Still, all eyes were on him.

"Um... I don't know, really. She just kind of freaked out and started running, so..." he looked for words. "I mean, it could really be anything. You know how Asuka is."

No one looked convinced. Shinji let the lameness of the statement hang between them like a dead animal. Eventually, Touji coughed.

"Right. As much as I'd love to help you solve _that_ mystery, I promised the Class Rep we'd pick out our colors today. I should head back," he pushed off from the tree and sighed heavily. "Good luck with all this, Chief."

In his infinite maturity, Kensuke mimed a whip being cracked over Touji's head, complete with noises from his mouth.

"Screw off, Aida," Touji growled, walking back the way they came. "You'd be singing a different tune if we were four days into December and _you_ had a date."

* * *

><p>"A date to what?"<p>

"You really don't know, do you?"

Asuka threw her arms up in the air. "No, Hikari! I _really_ don't know! I _really_ have no idea!"

Hikari giggled at the other girl's exasperation. "I'm sorry. I guess I just kind of assumed. We do it every year." She skipped a little as they walked out of the school, towards Hikari's house. _Oh god, _Asuka thought. _Hikari's_ **_giddy_**. The class rep waited for Asuka to catch up before continuing, "Suzuhara-kun is my date to the Christmas dance."

"We have a Christmas Dance?" Asuka asked. This was news to her. On a dime, her face soured. "Wait, is this a 'yukata and kimono' kinda thing? You guys ambushed me with that damn festival back in September..."

"Oh, but you looked so cute, Asuka-chan!"

"Uh-huh." Asuka muttered. Much to her chagrin, she'd had to borrow a kimono from Hikari during the September celebration. The piece of clothing had somehow (seemingly paradoxically) been both too tight, too small, and done _nothing_ for her figure. Asuka had spent the night feeling vaguely uncomfortable and pulling on the bottom of the garment to somehow create the illusion it belonged to her. She felt like a child wearing their parent's clothes: out of place and uncool.

Hikari took her friend's arm. She was still riding her emotional high from Touji's response, which only served to further annoy Asuka.

"No, the dance is a western sort of thing. Girls have to ask the guys, they dress up in tuxes and look nice," Hikari continued. "Some games and activities for couples to do. There's always loads of love confessions and stuff. It's kind of a big deal. Sort of like proms in America." Hikari pulled away and looked at Asuka. "You went to a prom, right?"

"I went to a private school before college," Asuka laughed. "Also, I was nine. But I get the concept. Why do the girls have to ask?"

"Well, like Valentine's Day, you know? It's kinda romantic!"

Asuka made a face, and Hikari released her arm, pouting.

"Oh, come on! We're not all beautiful, foreign, famous robot pilots!" she said. "You wear your heart right on your sleeve, Asuka, but admitting feelings is _hard _for some of us, you know? Things like this are a perfect excuse to let someone know how you feel. Especially if it's been a long time coming and you've been trying to work up the courage..." Hikari fiddled with the strap of her bag, averting her eyes from Asuka's gaze.

Asuka didn't have the heart to disagree with her friend. After a few beats, she sighed. "Yeah, I guess that's true," she relented. "Good for you, Horaki. You're more than he deserves."

Hikari blushed, a smile spreading over her face. "I'm so excited!"

She started to head towards their destination again. Asuka fell into step next to her, happy for her friend, but secretly hoping 'bubbly-in-love Hikari' wouldn't last through the _entire_ afternoon.

"You should ask someone, too. You'd like it, I swear."

"Maybe. I'm not sure who I'd even ask."

"Really? Just about anyone would go with you. All the boys in school think you're gorgeous, until you scream at them."

"I don't scream at _all_ of them. Let's be fair here," Asuka stretched her back. "Some get punched."

"I'm being serious, Asuka! I'm your best friend, I'll keep your confidentiality." Hikari glanced over at her friend. "There's no one you have a crush on? Not even a little bit?"

Asuka let her eyes wander off towards the street. "...not really."

Hikari looked back down at her feet, and for a moment the two simply walked. Hikari cleared her throat.

"Well, how about Ikari-kun? You two are always talking during lunch-"

Asuka tripped.

"Wha-why would I ask an idiot like him?" she roared. She rounded on her friend, cornering her. "He's like a _noodle_, Hikari! A doormat, pushover, idiot noodle! I'm Asuka Langley Sohryu! I wouldn't date that spineless dweeb if someone _paid_ me!"

Hikari raised her eyebrows. "It doesn't have to be a romantic sort of date, Asuka-chan. A lot of girls just go with friends."

Asuka was suddenly a very attractive shade of red. "Um..." She began. Hikari blinked. "Oh... well... then that changes things I guess."

She turned back towards their destination and kept walking. Hikari quickly trotted to keep pace.

Silence.

"I... I really didn't mean to imply anything, Asuka-chan."

"Don't sweat it," Asuka quickened her pace. "I just don't know what kind of moron would fall for that loser."

* * *

><p>Asuka sat with her back against a tree, somewhere in the forest outside of Tokyo-3. Her knees were hugged to her chest, her nose buried somewhere between them.<p>

_Stupid. This was all so unfathomably stupid._

She angrily rubbed her eyes, pre-empting any sort of tears that might be forming. This was nothing to cry about. She was Asuka Langley Sohryu, for god's sake. This was nothing at all.

It's not like the stupid dance was a big deal. It's not like today was special or anything. Shinji had no idea. No one did. She didn't tell anyone because for once in her life she didn't want to be the center of attention. She didn't want a celebration or a night out on the town, she just wanted...

Asuka felt the tears collapse down on to her cheeks, and hated herself a little more for it. Gritting her teeth, Asuka stood and wiped the liquid away with extreme prejudice.

_Man up, goddamn it._

She took a deep breath and let it slide out of her throat. Shinji would have given up looking by now. She'd won, but it was already afternoon, and the walk back to town would take at least an hour.

Asuka put one foot in front of the other, devoting her mental energies to coming up with some sort of feasible explanation as to why she had turned tail and fled into the woods like a maniac.

* * *

><p>Hikari had organized the picnic for after school on Friday, December 4th specifically <em>because<em> of the date's proximity to the Christmas Dance.

She chose an outdoor setting, in a park right next to the woods. It was a chance for people to work up the courage to ask someone, and maybe somehow maneuver them away from the flocks of friends that so ubiquitously clumped together during school. A group of five guys was intimidating. One guy sitting alone on a park bench was quite a different matter altogether.

Shinji had come primarily for the food, not really with any sort of hopes that he might actually be asked to the dance. Also, he had no doubt that Touji cared for Hikari, but he couldn't imagine picnics were really the other boy's thing. Deciding that an afternoon spent in a park sounded like a nice distraction from fighting alien monsters from space, Shinji sat next to Touji and Kensuke in the clearing and munched happily on an assortment from the nearby table.

Asuka watched him from the tree line, clutching the box of chocolates as it her life depended on it. Some of them had been crushed by her worrying, but she wasn't even entirely sure she was going to give them to him, anyway. It had been an impulse decision while en route to the park, and now, with the weight of it in her hands, she felt like an idiot.

_**Chocolates**__? Really? Why not just pin him to a tree and rip his shirt off, Sohryu? Did you pick up some condoms, too?_

She heaved a sigh. She knew the chocolate sent the totally incorrect message, but now she was stuck with them. Maybe they weren't so bad? Friends gave each other chocolates here too, right? Just as a sort of "Hey, I'm happy you exist" sort of thing. She thought so, anyway. Asuka wasn't 100% on the etiquette of that...

Of course, the chocolates meant absolutely nothing if she didn't work up the courage to walk up and ask the damn kid to the Christmas dance.

Her stomach churned and she leaned her forehead against a tree, willing it to calm down.

Why was she nervous, anyway? Asuka was fairly certain Shinji would say yes – he always agreed on the rare occasions she would ask for him to take her out on the town. It was just for the company, you know? The odd movie, maybe a restaurant after. Those had been fun! Shinji had even made that hellish September festival somewhat bearable for her by teaching her the different games, and being kind enough not to mention the garment situation. Hell, he'd even run interference between her legs and Kensuke's camera. Asuka had never actually gotten around to thanking him for that.

It was all that love confession non-sense that Hikari had filled her head with earlier in the week. It made everything seem so... complicated. Though she would never admit it, Asuka quite cherished her friendship with the other pilot. She just didn't want Shinji to think that her intentions were anything other than they were.

...which was to have a good time at the stupid school dance with a friend. This was a friend thing, just like those had been, just like they always would be.

_Right?_

Right. It's game time. Maybe the chocolates could even be thank you for Septemb-?

Asuka turned around to discover that Shinji had completely vanished. Touji and Kensuke laughed about nothing in particular next to an empty picnic cloth. The redhead burst from the woods and ran to them.

"Where's the idiot?"

Kensuke pointed over his shoulder.

"Ayanami just took him that way to talk," he said. "I think she's asking him to the dance, the lucky bastard."

Touji took a bite out of Shinji's sandwich. "Who gave you a box of chocolate?"

* * *

><p><em>Was she joking? <em>

Shinji looked at Rei, not quite sure what to say. Her eyes were as impassive as ever.

"...really?"

"Yes, I think I might actually enjoy myself if you were there," she stared at him. Rei had taken Shinji behind a grove of trees, out of the sight of the rest of the class. The two were as alone as you could get in a public park. It took a moment for the statement to sink in for Shinji. "If you wouldn't mind."

"O-of course I wouldn't _mind_, Ayanami!" Shinji replied. "I'm just, well... kind of surprised that you want to go."

Rei looked off, "I've never been to a school event. Dr. Akagi says that they're fun, and that I should try having some while I'm young. She recommended it for my mental health," the girl admitted. "I don't know many other people in the class besides you and Sohryu. You seemed the more logical choice."

Shinji laughed. "Yeah, good choice." he trailed off, imagining just exactly how Asuka would have reacted to the proposition. Rei tilted her head. Shinji shook the thoughts out of his mind and looked back into her eyes. "Of course I'll go with you, Ayanami. I'm flattered, really."

The faintest of smiles fluttered across Rei's face, and Shinji returned it. It was rare to see Rei's expression change, and he always felt a twinge of pride when he managed to somehow cheer her up. The poor girl always seemed so gloomy. That apartment didn't help matters, either. The place reminded Shinji uncomfortably of hospitals.

"So," he started, "what do you want to-"

Reaching up, Rei clutched the front of Shinji's shirt and pulled his lips into hers.

Later on, she would explain that Kaji had been in the room at the time Dr. Akagi's advice had been dispensed, and that he had coyly suggested she kiss her date to seal the deal. Rei had not caught the tone of mischief in his voice. Shinji was too shocked to do anything at all, save for blushing furiously.

Asuka showed up just in time to see the First's hands snake around his neck.

* * *

><p>It was very late indeed when Asuka finally returned from the woods. Misato was the only occupant still awake in the apartment.<p>

"There you are," she looked up as the German girl walked into the kitchen. "I was starting to think you might be spending the night out with your friends. Shinji said you ditched halfway through the picnic to hang out with them."

Asuka was happy that Shinji's advance excuse had pretty much covered her ass. He probably didn't even know how appropriate the excuse was. "Yeah, sorry about all that. Lost track of time. We got kind of carried away, I guess."

"Well, you deserve one day a year where you can, right?" Misato winked. Asuka nodded vaguely.

"I'm gonna shower and sleep. I'm really exhausted..." she walked through the kitchen as quickly as she thought appropriate. She didn't really want Misato to ask any questions right now. In fact, the less human contact the better. At least until the morning, she needed some time alone.

"Hey Asuka," the older woman stood at the end of the hallway. Asuka turned, knowing what was coming. Misato smiled at her, true warmth in her eyes. "Happy birthday."

Asuka pushed her hair behind her ear and forced a reciprocal smile. "Thanks."

"You let me know if there's anything you need, okay?"

"Yeah, definitely. Goodnight." She turned quickly so Misato wouldn't see the tears of hurt and embarrassment that were starting to form again.

The shower would take care of them. In moments they'd be gone forever, and it would be like they were never there in the first place.

* * *

><p><em>AN: Well, that's a bad ending to preface this with, but trust for this one to be a little less angsty then my last Eva fic. Dances are fun! Teenagers are fun!<em>

_Let's have some fun. :) Hope you enjoyed it._


	2. Heart On

_Shoot to kill, aim to please_

_What good's a heart if it ain't on your sleeve?_

_- _Eagles of Death Metal

* * *

><p>No, she was still there. This wasn't a joke. Oh, how Kaji wished this were a joke.<p>

He sighed, painfully. "I really don't think that's a good idea."

"...but why not?" Asuka looked genuinely hurt. She was standing near the door to the break room, whick thankfully was unoccupied besides the two of them. Kaji couldn't imagine how embarassed she would have been if she'd had witnesses to her getting shot down in flames. And if people were to misinterpret anything, it wasn't like _his_ name needed any more dragging through the mud when it came to the fairer sex.

Kaji smiled, trying to diffuse the situation. "School dances are for teenagers, Asuka-chan. I'm flattered, but you should find someone your age to go with. No one would want an old guy like me hanging around there."

"_I'd _want you there," Asuka protested, crossing her arms over her chest. "Come on, I don't think anyone would say anything. Besides, Hikari is my best friend, and she's one of the organizers-"

"Look, Asuka, honestly I think it would be inappropriate." Kaji rubbed his temples. "So I'm sorry, but I won't go with you."

Asuka studied his face for a moment, gaguing his response. The clock ticked on the wall.

"_Fine._" Asuka turned and walked for the door.

Kaji felt for the girl, but the last thing on earth he wanted to do was to indulge her crush on him. It had been cute when they'd first met, but now Asuka of age, and that shit was downright creepy. Not to mention unhealthy, on her part.

"Hey," he called to her back, "maybe you should ask Ikari-kun?"

The door shut without a response.

* * *

><p>"Huh?"<p>

Asuka sighed. _This was off to a great start_. "I asked if you were Iyasu. You're friends with Horaki Hikari, right?"

The boy shrugged. "Yeah, I know Horaki," he turned and continued putting books in his locker. "You're Sohryu, right?"

"Don't be coy. You know damn well who I am," Asuka bristled. "Hikari says you're dateless and I don't find you utterly repulsive. Go to the dance with me."

Iyasu shut his locker and glanced over at the redhead. He squinted for a second.

"Wait, you're not going with that Ikari kid? I heard he had a date," Iyasu shrugged. "Sort of assumed it was you."

_Breathe. Be calm. Give him half a chance to prove he's not an idiot. _

"No," she said as evenly as possible, her hands still clenched into fists, "he's going with someone else."

"Oh? Who?"

Asuka felt her teeth grinding into each other in her mouth. "...Ayanami," she mumbled.

"What? No way!" Iyasu's jaw dropped. "How the _hell_ did he swing that?! How does that scrawny Shinji kid get so lucky? Have you _seen_ her in a swimsu-?"

Asuka punched him.

* * *

><p>"Nope." Aoba said, not looking up from his console.<p>

"Wh-what?!" Asuka stuttered, flustered at the direct refusal. "It doesn't have to be weird, guys! You're not even that much older than me!"

"I'm twenty-eight." Aoba glanced over at the redhead. "That means I was your age when you were born."

"Besides, it's against regulations on just about every level," Hyuga yawned, stretching at the computer nearby. "I mean, not that I would have agreed anyway, but for what it's worth: we're literally being paid to say no."

Asuka was at an utter loss. She turned to her left.

"Maya?"

Maya looked up from her console, shock across her face.

"God damn it!" she said, blushing furiously. "Why does everyone think I'm a lesbian?!"

* * *

><p>Hikari watched as her friend stared sullenly down into her bento. Shinji was over eating with Rei, as seemed to be his custom now, but he had still found time to make Asuka her breakfast.<p>

It was weird to see Asuka so... out of sorts.

"You could ask any of the boys from gym," she suggested, shrugging and sipping her tea. "Could be fun to get to know someone new."

"It's really not that important, Hikari. I just won't go." Asuka sighed, "_one_ missed social event won't be the end of the world."

Hikari chewed on the end of one of her chop sticks, considering all the alternatives.

"Well... what about Kensuke?"

* * *

><p>"Hey Aida."<p>

Kensuke blinked, looking up at Asuka over his desk.

There was a long pause, and then a tentative "...yes?"

For a long time, she just stared at him.

"You're an idiot," Asuka said, turning to go back to her seat.

* * *

><p>Coffee felt warm in his hands, and Shinji was grateful for the composure it brought him. Asuka was grabbing some sort of donut inside before they made for home, but he was already feeling nervous about the next twenty minutes. There were a number of roads this conversation could go down, and since she'd been so strangely testy around him after her mystery flight into the underbrush, chances were it wasn't going to go well.<p>

Nothing ventured, nothing gained, he supposed.

Asuka was already biting into her frosted donut when she exited. They'd started making the red frosted ones in time for Christmas and she'd managed to choke back her recent Shinji-related ire long enough to suggest they stop off for one.

_They're yummy, god damn it._ Asuka spared the briefest of glances at him before she made briskly for home. He followed, ever her shadow.

"H-hey Asuka," came his call. She didn't look back at him.

"Yeah?"

"You know the, uh... the dance?"

Asuka took a particularly vindictive bite out of her donut. "I've heard of it."

"Well, I was asked by Ayanami, as um... I'm sure you know."

Asuka tossed her crumpled paper bag to the ground, not breaking stride. "Are you going somewhere with this, Ikairi?"

Shinji tripping over a part of the sidewalk. _This was going terribly. She's going to say no._ Pausing to gather his courage, there was a beat, and then a single-breath confession.

"Asuka I don't know how to dance could you teach me how to dance with Ayanami!"

She stopped in her tracks, turning back to face him.

"..._what_?"

"I mean... like..." he shifted his weight uncomfortably, wishing for all the world that he knew any other girls at all. Touji was in the same boat as he was, but he actually had someone to teach him. Shinji bit his lip and continued. "You don't have a date, so I figured... if you weren't doing anythi-"

"Wh-what?! How dare you!" she stepped towards him, pointing the most accusatory of fingers into his chest. "Are you pitying me, Ikari?! How _dare_ you! I do so have a date! You just haven't been informed yet!"

Shinji blinked. "Really? That's great, Asuka. Who did you ask?"

"D- um..." Asuka's eyes flitted like hummingbirds as she tried desperately to think of an imaginary boy to take her to this stupid, awful, life-ruining Christmas dance. "I asked, uh... you know..." She couldn't say Kaji. Shinji was going to _be there_, she had to pick someone that she could actually back up. "I asked our buddy Ken- Kensuke!"

Shinji leaned away from her a little.

"Kensuke... Aida?"

"Y-yes! Kensuke Aida! I asked him and he said yes!" Asuka was rapidly turning the color of that donut she just finished eating. "We're very happy!"

"That's... really great, Asuka."

"Yes, it _is_ isn't it?"

"I didn't know you talked to Kensuke."

"Yeah, we're uh... you know..." she kicked at something on the ground. "We IM a lot."

"Oh."

"Yeah."

There was a breeze, the sun shone brightly. The odd dog barked.

Eventually Asuka cleared her throat.

"SO," she began, "so um, that's a thing that has to happen, now..."

"So, does that mean you'll have time to teach me how to dance?"

"Oh, for sure! What are you, stupid? I can teach you some moves to sweep old cold and blue off her feet no problem." Asuka turned, continuing their walk for home. "Besides, I'm American, dumbass. We practically _invented_ prom. We prom on the hardest difficulty there is."

Asuka seemed to be American, German or Japanese whenever a moment of pride from any of the three nations tickled her fancy. Shinji had decided long ago to ask her about World War II sometime and watch her stumble all over her pronouns.

"Thank you!" he said, catching up to walk next to her. "Honestly, Asuka, it's very appreciated. Rei always seems so gloomy, I just... want her to have a good time for once. Maybe she'll start coming out of her shell?"

"Yeah, she's not exactly Miss Fun and Fancy Free," Asuka cracked her neck. "No worries, Ikari. I'll teach you how to dance. Making Rei have fun? I consider that a challenge before the whole human race."

And she wasn't going to lose.


	3. Popular Mechanics for Lovers

"_Doo doo-do  
><em>_Doo do-doo-doo!  
><em>_Doo doo-do  
><em>_Doo do-doo-doo!"_

- Third Eye Blind

* * *

><p>After the fourth attempt, Asuka clicked decisively on the spacebar, stopping the song, and whatever the hell it was Shinji considered himself to be doing. It certainly wasn't a dance.<p>

"Okay," she said, pinching the area between her eyes, and trying to phrase her question in a way that wasn't exclusively confrontational. "What is it exactly that you're not getting about Hey Ya?"

Shinji shook his head, frustrated, "They keep changing time signatures."

"They _what_?"

"Time signatures. They keep switching in the verse from four-four to two-four. It's throwing me a little." Shinji ran his hand over the back of his neck. "I've always had an ear for stuff like that. My cello teacher used to –"

Asuka pointed. "Shinji, stop right now or I swear to god, I'm gonna shove your litter nerd self into a locker tomorrow morning in front of all the kids. It's got a _beat_. An easy beat." She clapped her hands in a manner she figured would demonstrate to him just how deep his stupidity was running right now. "This is the simplest thing. Monkeys do this." Shinji shook his head.

"I know, but I'm telling you–"

Asuka closed her laptop, disconnecting it from the speakers and standing. "Okay, well that's us. See you at home."

"No! No, hold on," Shinji held up a hand. "I'm sorry, I'll really try this time. Maybe I just need another song?"

Her eyes narrowed. They had already spent hours and hours in the rehearsal space – now it was dark outside and Asuka still had English homework to finish. She didn't mind English homework, actually. It was the one thing that old loser assigned she could actually make her way through, and she liked impressing everyone in the class with her flawless readings of the materials. They were all very jealous, she was sure.

Asuka sighed, cocking her head to look at Shinji. "You really like her, don't you?" He blushed, averting his eyes to somewhere else on the paneled wooden floor.

"I… I don't know about all that," he faltered. "It would just be nice to see her smile more, don't you think?"

For a moment, he caught a strange expression passing over Asuka's face. It was a sort of resigned sadness, similar to something he'd seen Misato wear before. He had suspected that Asuka felt like her time was being wasted and the expression only confirmed it, leading to a soft sinking in his own heart. Shinji hated disappointing people.

It may have just been a trick of the light though; a moment later, she was rolling her eyes and opening her computer back up.

"Fine. We'll try something else," she plugged the speakers back in and clicked to the next track on Pandora. "But if I hear a _single_ word about time signatures, Ikari, so help me."

Shinji put all of the things his cello teacher said out of his mind, placed his arms back around Asuka's waist and let his mind fill with perfect pop music that he was sure would never die.

Suhm-BAH-dee once told me the world was gonna roll me...

* * *

><p>"It's hell. It's hellish, awful, <em>awful<em> hell." Touji bit down on the candy bar and scowled. His rant continued through a mouth full of caramel. "You don't know the half of it. The rep's gone nearly crazy with this thing only a week away."

Shinji nodded sagely. Gym was outside on the basketball courts today, but he was sitting on the bleachers with his friends. He wasn't usually the first choice for sports, but with all the effort he knew was awaiting him when school let out, Shinji decided just to opt out today. It was Wednesday and already he felt exhausted. His limbs ached. One more week of practice sounded like it might as well be another year of his life.

"Yeah," he mumbled. "Do you guys practice dancing a lot?"

Touji shook his head, "Nah. A lot of just like, helping her plot things out. We hang out at her house a lot. I have to help her plan where seats are, book a DJ… if I'd known this was part of the racket I'd have said no," Touji tossed the crumpled wrapper of the Snickers towards the garbage can ten rows down. It ricocheted lamely off several metal seats and found its way through the cracks and into the abyss below the bleachers, never to be seen again. He sighed. "Her sisters ain't bad though."

Shinji looked over at him. "Oh yeah?"

"Yeah, they're actually kinda cute kids," Touji glanced off to the left, where the girls were on the track. "I think sometimes Hikari just needs a break. She works hard, ya know?"

Shinji couldn't help but smile at his friend's small moment of introspection. Touji leaned back, shaking his head. "So what about you? How's boot camp going?"

"It's going well!" Shinji lied through his teeth. "Really well. I think I'm getting better."

"You're not wearing those _outfits_ again, are you?"

"No, that was vetoed pretty quickly."

"Well, that's a mercy. Shit was downright unnatural." Touji leaned forward, shaking his head. "I gotta say though, Chief, I don't really get it. You're asked out by the cutest girl at the school, and instead of doing the smart thing and spending time with her, you decide to hop on _the god damn crazy train_ and spend hours and hours cavorting around with, let's be real, the closest thing we'll ever see to the Antichrist." He spread his hands wide. "She's not even your date!"

"Oh right, because whose date _is_ she again?" Kensuke turned around in front of them, his glasses low over a lascivious grin. He pointed to himself. "That's right. Kensuke, bitches."

Touji shook his head. "You're bragging about an early grave."

"Sohryu's hot as hell and you know it," Kensuke looked back towards the court, quite proud of something he only had to say yes to. _That_ had been one of the strangest phone calls of his life.

"She's about as hot as she is psychotic."

Kensuke shrugged at the point well made. "Well, you can't win 'em all, right?"

"Oh come on, Asuka's not really all that bad." Shinji mentioned lightly. "Oh, Kensuke, I've been curious: when you're talking, what do you guys chat about?"

Seemingly all the bleachers turned to look at him in confusion.

"Huh?" Kensuke pushed up his glasses, as if they might somehow help clear up what Shinji meant. "What did we chat about _when?_"

"You know, over AIM." Shinji looked back and forth between them. "Do… do you guys not IM?"

There was a long beat of silence where everyone thought about whether instant messaging was still a 'thing' anymore, and if they'd ever gotten around to deleting their AOL screen names.

"Oh yeah. That." Kensuke coughed. "Yeah, all the time. She sends me pics and stuff."

Which was the latest in a long line of lies that Shinji believed without question.

* * *

><p>"Well, I didn't forty-thousand-yen love it. <em>Jesus<em>." Asuka pulled her friend out of the store bodily.

"I dunno, I thought it was pretty."

"Lots of things to spend money on. I'm not getting married in it, Hikari." She sighed as she glanced around the mall. This store was a total bust and they were starting to run out of options. "Maybe I can just go in my school uniform? Who am I trying to impress here, anyway? Aida? Not difficult. A low-cut tanktop would 'impress' him just fine."

Hikari shrugged. "You're the one that asked him."

"Cornered animals strike at anything," the redhead mumbled darkly. "I need a break. Let's food."

The food court in this mall was a godsend. It was the only place in Tokyo-3 that made a slice of pizza Asuka liked and she needed it now more than ever.

"Four days," she said, biting into the stuffed crust. "Four days and this madness is over, and if I never have to hear the word 'corsage' again it'll be too soon."

"Is it really that bad? I've actually been getting to know a lot about Suzuhara," Hikari giggled. "He actually said this really funny thing the other day when Mae was-"

"Hikari. Don't. Please," Asuka held up her slice. "I need to just not think about any of those idiots right now. This pizza is my sanctuary. It is my only friend."

She continued to eat her mall-pizza sullenly. What was she even doing anymore? Was this important, in the long run? She didn't know. At this point, if she woke up tomorrow and the dance had been cancelled, she would have rolled over and slept happily.

There was one _small_ thing she would miss, though.

Loathe as Asuka was to admit it, she had come to look forward to the hours after school when she'd be alone with Shinji.

The faster songs made him flail like a toddler, to be sure, but whenever a ballad came on, he stopped thinking too hard. "This is slower," he'd said, confidently. "I can do the slow ones, Asuka." She insisted they practice anyway.

He'd held her waist as one would cradle a dying bird at first, but after a week of constant practice he gripped it firmly. His hands were stronger than he knew, and his shoulders broader than she had realized. She'd come to associate the smell of him with warmth and resting her head on his shoulder.

And that scared her.

A puppy crush was one thing, but this dancing and holding, it... well, it was something else entirely. Whenever she thought of his hands around Rei's waist that way, smiling shyly down at her whenever he accidentally stepped on her foot...

_Chomp._ Rei's neck transposed as cheesy crust.

Yes. The sooner this was all over, the better. For everyone. Forever.

Asuka tossed her plate into the garbage and stretched.

"Let's try H&M," she said. "You're lucky I love you, Hikari. This dance thing might just be the death of me."

Hikari laughed as they began to walk. "You know, sometimes I wish I could just say my feelings like you do."

"It's one of my strengths," Asuka admitted, not even totally aware of how hypocritical that statement actually was.

* * *

><p>"Wow! Better!" Asuka actually clapped. "That was much better."<p>

Shinji panted, smiling. "Really?"

Asuka nodded firmly as she shut down her computer. "Wonder Girl better watch out tomorrow. If she's not careful, you might just sweep her off her feet. Then she'd be stuck with you." Turning, she paused at Shinji's stare. Asuka felt a mutinous little flutter in her chest. "Wh-what are you staring at, dummy?"

"Nothing, really. I just..." Shinji shrugged, shaking his head. "I don't remember the last time I saw you smile like that. It's a good look for you."

"Oh." Asuka blinked, looking away from him. _Stop it,_ she thought. _It's Rei he wants. _"Thanks."

"Don't mention it..." The studio space felt quiet and vacant already. He looked around, disappointed that this might be the last time he would ever see it. "You know, this was frustrating at first, but I've really enjoyed learning with you," Shinji ventured as he gathered his stuff. "Maybe after the dance we can... uh... keep doing it or something?"

She looked at him strangely. "Yeah," she mumbled. "Maybe."

Shinji's brow furrowed, but he decided not to push it any more.

Asuka shouldered her bag, putting on a smile as she made for the exit. "So tomorrow's the big day, huh? You excited?"

"Yeah," he admitted, following her out. "Yeah, I think it'll be fun. You?"

"Yeah, it'll be something. I'll just be happy if Aida keeps his hands to himself. You'd better not disappoint me, though," she winked, turning off the lights. "I'll be watching you on the dance floor, Ikari. Time to find out what we're made of."

The door shut and the dance hall was at rest, not to be disturbed again until Christmas, the holidays, and whatever may occur before the new year.


End file.
